Photo Mode: Ghost of Tsushima (PlayStation 5)

The year is 1274. Samurai warriors are the legendary defenders of Japan—until the fearsome Mongol Empire invades the island of Tsushima, wreaking havoc and conquering the local population. As one of the last surviving samurai, you rise from the ashes to fight back. But honorable tactics won’t lead you to victory. You must move beyond your samurai traditions to forge a new way of fighting—the way of the Ghost—as you wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Japan.

Video games and photography are two of my biggest passions. With the increase of graphical quality on the Playstation 5 and PC, games started adding new features like Photo Mode, and I don’t need to say that I am already in love with it.

Photo Mode allows to pause the game and set camera controls like aperture, focal length, luminance, blur, game logo, film grain, aspect ratio, bokeh balls, tone curve, etc. Some titles even allow the insertion of particles like leaves, wind gusts and extra spices to make the picture even more interesting. It’s like having an enhanced Lightroom right in the middle of your gameplay!

Looking at these pictures is just like looking at photos taken in real life, making me remember the situation I was in the game when I took the picture. As a photographer, I think this is an interesting way to remember the adventures and the fun I had while playing these titles. Some of them are brutal, just like the old Tsushima samurai realm (PG-18, you have been warned), so enjoy!

Over the fantastic Japanese sunsets, heads being cut off, sharpness of Jin Sakai’s blade, relentless enemies and cowards who kill horses, I proudly present you my photo book taken from Ghost of Tsushima, played on 4K UHD HDR on the PlayStation 5, enjoy!